4 European travel trends for spring

March 6, 2017

It might be wishful thinking, but we have a strong suspicion that spring is on it's way. Despite the best efforts of Storm Doris, we have our eyes firmly focused on the season of new beginnings - with a particular focus on the travel trends we expect to take centre-stage as the clocks move forward in March.

The advent of spring break is a key time in a travel business's calendar, but whilst the college kids are looking to hit the party circuit in North America, Europeans are emerging from the fugue state of winter and are looking to plan their next trip. Sojern's annual Global Travel Insights Report had a few predictions to make when it came to European travel trends for spring. Here are four of the highlights:

1. Bank holiday travel is in. An appealing aspect of spring in Europe is that there are a few bank holidays to lighten the load. Sojern gave a nod to travel operators to expect a surge in travel bookings on both Good Friday and Easter Monday as this is a holiday weekend shared by many countries in Europe. In fact, they specified that the third most popular departure date searched is April 14, Good Friday.

2. Spain takes the crown. Despite the fact that sunny Spain won't be experiencing its hottest temperatures in spring, it is still the most popular destination for Europeans looking to escape their native climate. Half of the top 10 destinations searched in April are Spanish, and in the top five beach destinations, four are located in Spain.

3. Phuket and Rome are the ones to watch. Both of these destinations are tipped to rise in consumer interest as they made the top five searched destinations in long and short-haul travel amongst Europeans.

4. Shorter trips are on the rise. Sojern's previous report recorded that 49% of searches were for short-haul holidays lasting 0-3 days and the current report demonstrates this figure has risen to 55%. This is accredited to the bank holidays on offer for people to plan their travels around.

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